Ministry Teams

Witness and Service

We will renew our passion for sharing the Good News.

This priority is assigned to the Witness and Service Ministry Team. The outcomes for the team are found below.

These groups relate to the Witness and Service Ministry Team:

• Parish Nurse Task Force
• Gay and Lesbian Ministry Task Force
• Accessibility Team
• World Hunger Appeal Team
• Campus Ministry Task Force

One way in which the Witness and Service Ministry Team addresses the outcomes is by providing grants to congregations, clusters, individuals, and others seeking synod funding.

For a list of the grant recipients for 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, and descriptions of the projects for which they were granted funds, click here.

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For a grant application form that you can print from your computer or download, click here.

For suggestions of other sources of grants for social ministry needs, click here.

Providing a forum for advocacy is an outcome that the team oversees. Click here for ideas and resources for exploring social issues and the ministry of advocacy.

Click here for some resources and ideas that will challenge and support you and your congregation in your engagement with your local communities for witness, outreach and social ministry.

For ideas and resources to assist you and your congregation to be intentionally inviting, welcoming and hospitable, click here.

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Advocacy: Here are resources to help you or your congregation—

• Explore social issues important to the church and society:
  
  Go to the web page of the Department of Studies of the Division of Church and Society of the ELCA to find Social Statements of the ELCA, study guides for the statements, and information about the studies currently underway on education and sexuality. www.elca.org/dcs/studies.
  

• In your ministry of advocacy on issues of justice:
• The Department of Advocacy of the Division for Church in Society of the ELCA provides resources for congregations wanting to learn how to advocate for justice (www.elca.org/dcs/advocacy).
•  Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (www.lirs.org) is one of the nation's leading agencies of this kind, welcoming and advocating for refugees and other migrants.
•  Stand With Africa (www.standwithafrica.org) is a campaign that supports African churches and communities as they withstand AIDS, banish hunger, and build peace. Join Lutheran World Relief, the ELCA World Hunger Program, and the LCMS World Relief in a campaign of hope.
• The Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs is the ELCA's voice in Washington DC and can provide you with important information about issues of social justice facing the nation (www.loga.org).
• The Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania is the ELCA's voice in Harrisburg and can provide you with important information about issues of social justice facing our state (www.lamp.org).
• Bread for the World is a nationwide Christian citizens movement seeking justice for the world's hungry people by lobbying our nation's decision makers (www.bread.org).
• Lutheran Peace Fellowship is a community of Lutherans across the U.S. and around the globe, responding to the gospel call to be peacemakers and justice seekers (www.lutheranpeace.org).

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Witness, outreach and social ministry.  Here are resources to help you or your congregation with witness, outreach and social ministry:

• The Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod Resource Library has many resources for helping your congregation in these areas. Come to browse or contact Debbie Frey at 610-395-6891.
• Visit www.elca.org/dcm/evangelism for resources for individual witness and congregational outreach.
• Does your congregation want help to start a social ministry committee or to assess needs for social ministry programming? Contact Lutheran Congregational Services Inc. at (610) 770-9205 or luthcongserv@enter.net.
• Does your congregation want to develop special programs to meet the needs of individuals in your congregation and community? Contact Lutheran Congregational Services Inc. at (610) 770-9205 or luthcongserv@enter.net and/or Diakon's Family Life Services -- Northeastern Pennsylvania, 1-888-499-2699 or 610-682-1337 or fls@diakon.org. Visit their web page at www.diakon.org/fls to discover the counseling and other services available.

Inviting, Welcoming, Hospitable Congregations:

• The Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod Resource Library has many resources for helping your congregation grow in hospitality. Come to browse or contact Debbie Frey at 610-395-6891.
• Visit www.elca.org/dcm/evangelism/congregations for suggestions and resources.

Outcomes

The synod vision states, As God’s people, we are rooted, connected, sent, and transformed. In faithful response to God’s action in our lives and the call to respond to the issues that confront us, the Witness and Service Ministry Team helps the synod meet its commitment to— 

• Work to ensure that populations that may be ignored or excluded hear the Good News 
• Provide a forum for moral deliberation and advocacy on issues of justice
• Challenge and support congregations in their engagement with their local communities for witness, outreach and social ministry 
• Help congregations to participate in and share responsibility for ministry on a level beyond their local settings 
• Encourage and assist congregations to be intentionally inviting, welcoming and hospitable

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© 2008 Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod. All rights reserved.